• Drug trafficker sentenced
• Lecturers' demand
• Demonstration held

• Dowry case registered
• Morcha rally on January 24
• 3 undertrials escape

Haryana exceeds target
From Tribune Reporters

CHANDIGARH, Jan 17 — The Haryana Health Department has achieved more success than target in administering oral polio vaccine in the second round of the nationwide puls-polio immunisation campaign today. As per preliminary reports received from all over the state, over 30 lakh children in the age group of 0-5 years were administered oral polio vaccine against the target of 26.88 lakh children.

This was stated by Director-General of Health Services, Dr P.L. Jindal, here today. He said the department had made elaborate arrangements to administer polio drops to the targeted children through 10,000 pulse-polio immunisation (PPI) posts including mobile PPI teams in the state. Special arrangements were made at strategic points like railway stations and bus stands. Apart from this, special arrangements had also been made by the district authorities to cover the transit population.

Mr Jindal said in the high-risk areas like areas with confirmed polio cases, urban slums and areas with high population turn-over, the campaign was intensified through house- to-house visits by PPI team members in the afternoon to verify coverage of 100 per cent target.

He said in the Mewat region of Gurgaon and Faridabad districts full cooperation of local community leaders enlisted to ensure coverage of minority community whose coverage was found to be low in the previous PPI campaign.

Dr Jindal said the results achieved by the department were indeed beyond expectations. He said the coverage in most of the districts was very encouraging and had shot up well beyond 100 per cent in the districts adjoining Chandigarh and Delhi because of the migrant population and awareness generated by the department in a big way.

The Health Minister, Mr Om Parkash Mahajan expressed satisfaction over the quality coverage of second round of pulse-polio campaign in the state. He lauded the role of district administration, teachers, panchayat, functionaries, government employees, officers and voluntary organisations engaged in accomplishing this gigantic task.

SONEPAT: A large number of children up to the age of five were administered polio drops by doctors and employees of the Health Department and volunteers at different booths set up in the city and other parts of the district on Sunday. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr P.K. Mahapatra, inaugurated the campaign here.

Dr R.N. Sachdeva, Civil Surgeon, said the response was overwhelming. As many as 1,65,881 children identified during a survey conducted by the Health Department are to be immunised in the district. The department had set up 492 centres.

REWARI: Over one lakh children were administered polio drops here on Sunday during the second phase of the pulse-polio immunisation campaign. Nearly 484 booths were set up in rural and urban areas of the district. About nine mobile booths were also pressed into service.

The Deputy Commissioner, Ms Rajni Sekhri Sibal, flagged off a children's cycle rally as well as a children's march at Dharuhera chowk here for spreading awareness among the masses.

YAMUNANAGAR: The Minister of Environment and Wildlife, Haryana, Mr Subhash Chaudhry, launched the second phase of the pulse-polio immunisation campaign by administering polio drops to children at the Civil Hospital here on Sunday.

Mr Rajiv Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, said elaborate arrangements were made by the district administration to administer polio drops through 668 centres and 25 mobile booths. Special posts were set up at strategic points like bus stands railway stations, slum areas and labour colonies. The District Education Officer and gram panchayats in the district had organised prabhat pheris jointly in rural areas to create awareness among the rural masses.

Sampat highlights govt failures
From Our Correspondent

FATEHABAD, Jan 17 — Former Haryana Home Minister and Indian National Lok Dal MLA Mr Sampat Singh has said that the HVP-BJP government in the state has failed on all fronts.

Talking to mediapersons here yesterday he said that the over two years of rule of Mr Bansi Lal had been a story of failures. He was here in connection with a three-day tour of villages of this constituency.

Mr Sampat Singh said though all aspects of the administration were to be taken care of by a government, but Haryana being an agricultural state, irrigation and power were the most important. He regretted that the state government had failed to provide power and water to its farmers. He said a government ruling an agricultural state like Haryana ought to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to its people at reasonable rates, but the Bansi Lal Government had failed to do this. The government, he alleged, had also failed to supply proper inputs like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides at reasonable rates and at proper time.

Mr Sampat Singh alleged that the state government had an ambitious plan worth Rs 1858 crore named the Haryana Water Resources Consolidation Project which was sanctioned in 1994. The bank was to give Rs 975 crore for this project. But the HVP-BJP government he said, had failed to utilise the funds. While the government had exceeded the budget provisions on the earth work by five times, it had failed to make proper utilisation of the budget in structural and hydraulic works, Mr Sampat Singh termed this as a criminal negligence on the part of the government.

Mr Sampat Singh accused the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues of telling white lies in the matter of water management and power situations. He said the ministers of the government had been claiming during their public meetings that the government was going to spend Rs 2600 crore on the management of waterlogging, while only Rs 45 crore had been sanctioned by the Cabinet.

Similarly the government had been claiming to ensure uninterrupted supply of power by the end of June, while a survey of the works being carried out on new projects showed that the government was unlikely to add more than 142 MW to its existing power capacity by June.

Govt inaction puzzles Bhiwani residents
From Our Correspondent

BHIWANI, Jan 17 — People of the town are perturbed over the action of the authorities in stopping the inquiry launched by the Vigilance Department of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam regarding the power theft in the local industrial area.

Mr Om Parkash, president of the Jan Sangharsh Samiti, in a press statement here said today if the power theft cases were not pursued further and the accused let off without giving them any exemplary punishment the samiti would stage dharnas in the town. He termed the action as politically motivated.

He said after the discovery of theft of crores of rupees of electricity by the local industrial units influential politicians had lost their sleep. He said had the vigilance inquiry been pursued further the link of these politicians in the power theft cases would have come to light. He alleged these so-called political leaders had exercised their influence in getting the vigilance inquiry stopped. He said the theft of electricity was unabated. He said this action of the government had emboldened the industrialists engaged in electricity theft.

The union leader demanded an inquiry into the whole episode by the CBI so that the "secret alliance" of industrialists and politicians could come to light. After a long campaign by the Haryana Vidyut Employees Union and the Opposition the state government had sent a special squad to investigate power theft in the industrial area.

The vigilance squad conducted raids on the local industrial houses and came up with astonishing revelations regarding power theft. It was found that seals of the electric meters were found intact but the machinery inside the meters was changed which gave different reading of units outside and inside. The reading inside the meter was much less than it appeared on the face of it.

The police registered cases against nine officers of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam. Six industrialists had to remain in jail in this connection for a week. Some of them got anticipatory bail from court. After an inquiry on a wide scale by the Vigilance Department of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam as many as 36 industrialists fled for fear of arrest by the police.

The people of the town were confident the government would not spare the electricity thieves but all of a sudden on January 7 the government called back the vigilance officers to Chandigarh.

Bansi assures relief to farmers
From Our Correspondent

KAITHAL, Jan 17 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, today assured farmers that appropriate compensation would be paid to compensate for the losses caused due to unseasonal torrential rains during October last year.

The Chief Minister was addressing a largely attended public meeting at Kalayat, about 25 km from here, today.

He said the compensation paid in the name of flood relief by Mr Bhajan Lal was not part of any grant from the Central Government but loan which was being repaid by the present government at 13 per cent rate of interest. The state was repaying Rs 139 crore per annum to the Centre on this account.

He said the barrage on the Western Yamuna Canal would be ready by June 30 and after its completion Haryana would get additional 5000 to 10,000 cusecs of water from the Yamuna.

While recounting the promises made by the present HVP-BJP government, he said most of them had already been fulfilled. These included payment of old-age pension by the seventh of every month, enhancement of village chowkidar allowance, enhancement of allowances and facilities being provided to the ex-servicemen, raising the pension of freedom fighters besides desilting of canals and ensuring water at the tail-end.

Mr Bansi Lal said Haryana would be hard pressed to think where to sell its surplus power after one year or so. The 432 MW power generation plant in progress at Faridabad would start yielding 143 MW of power by March this year as its first unit would be ready by then. Its second unit of similar capacity would be commissioned by June and the third unit of 146 MW by December this year.

The renovation of four existing units of the Panipat thermal plant was being taken up by a German firm. These plants would yield 250-270 MW of additional power by December this years. The sixth unit of 210 MW of the Panipat thermal plant was also in progress, which too was likely to be completed by December. Maruti Udyog Limited was also contributing 20 MW of power besides their own consumption. A 25 MW fuel-based power generation plant had already been commissioned at Gurgaon. The government had also signed an agreement with the Indian Oil Corporation for the supply of 310 MW of power from its Panipat refinery. The government had received tenders for setting up a 500 MW power plant at Yamunanagar and with the completion of this process tenders for a similar capacity power plant at Hisar would be invited.

The Chief Minister said the government had not privatised the power sector rather four companies were being formed for its better management. Two companies, namely Genco and Transco, had already been formed. Two more companies for effective distribution of power would come up. He had not sold any asset of the erstwhile HSEB and assured that no retrenchment of its employees would be made.

He said the government was providing subsidy to the tune of Rs 700 crore per annum on account of power supply to the farming community as it was providing power at the rate of 50 paise per unit against its actual cost of Rs 2.88 per unit.

Naqvi moots media panel
From Our Correspondent

GURGAON, Jan 17 — The Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Mukhtiar Abbas Naqvi has opined that a media commission should be constituted for journalists of electronic and print media and recommendations should be implemented in letter and spirit to bring uniformity. He was addressing the 20th annual convention of the Haryana Union of Journalists (HUJ), affiliated to the National Union of Journalists (India), at John Hall here today.

Mr Naqvi said the role of the print and electronic media was similar in many ways. The bodies which existed today catered to the needs of the print media. He felt that there was a dire need of a media commission to safeguard the interests of the journalists. Lauding the role of the press, the minister said it was not focussing its attention on individuals as was being done in the USA and the UK.

Talking about the recent attacks on the Christians in Gujarat and Karnataka, Mr Naqvi said the allegations were based on unfounded comprehensions. He said all communities were safe in India under the present government.

Talking about his recent visit to an Arab country, Mr Naqvi said people made enquiries from him whether the minority communities were safe in India. He said, he was shocked that their belief was based on hearsay and rumours. On being told that the situation was normal in India, they looked amazed. Mr Naqvi said such rumours not only tarnished the image of the ruling party and people it brought bad name to the country.

Earlier, the Minister of Co-operatives, Rao Narbir Singh, said a tripartite committee should be constituted comprising members of working journalists, newspaper management and the government to implement the recommendations of the wage board. He also highlighted the difficulties faced by the NUJ. The minister said journalists must discharge their duty honestly and fearlessly.

Dowry victim battling for life
Tribune News Service

HISAR, Jan 17 — Kavita (19) is battling for life in a local nursing home. She has suffered 80 per cent burns, after her husband allegedly set her on fire for not bringing adequate dowry.

Kavita's father, Bahadur Singh is a driver. He was told by doctors in the local Civil Hospital that the chances of her survival were slim. She was referred to Medical College, Rohtak. Bahadur Singh had no money. He approached the Red Cross authorities. They promised Rs 5000, too meagre to save a life.

The matter came to the notice of Mr Prasun Latant a local journalist. He approached some social activists who collected Rs 40,000. Appeals were issued in local newspapers and on the Siti channel.

Swapna (5) and her brother Arjun (8), rang up their grandfather in the USA and told him to give Rs 400 on their behalf for Kavita's treatment.

Kavita is still not out of danger. She has accused her husband for setting her on fire.

Kavita was married in Suratgarh in Rajasthan. Her husband was working with a goldsmith. Soon after the marriage Kavita's husband allegedly started torturning her. Her mother said, the beatings of her husband also led to a miscarriage about six months ago.

Hisar district has witnessed a sharp rise in dowry death cases from seven in 1997 to 22 in 1998. Seventy cases were registered in 1998 as against 30 the previous year.

Congress candidate wins byelection
From Our Correspondent

AMBALA, Jan 17 — The Congress won the byelection for ward No 3 of Ambala Sadar Municipal Council which was held here today.

Congress candidate Ajay defeated an independent candidate, Mr Ajay Gupta, by 10 votes. Mr Gupta was supported by the local MLA, Mr Anil Vij. The Congress candidate secured 603 votes, Mr Gupta 593 votes and the BJP candidate, Mr Bimal Parkash, got only 444 votes.

The byelection was held due to the death of Mr Krishnamurti who was the father of the Congress candidate. Out of a total of 2,479 votes, 1663 votes were found valid and 21 votes were declared invalid.

The Returning Officer, Mr R.K. Garg, said the formal declaration of the result would be made after the approval from the state election commission.

Interestingly, it is the third consecutive defeat for the BJP candidate.

Dowry case against husband, in-laws
From Our Correspondent

FATEHABAD, Jan 17 — The police here has booked the in-laws of a woman for allegedly harassing and threatening to kill her for bringing insufficient dowry.

Mr Rajbir Deswal, SP, said Ms Ritu Rani of Tohana had lodged a complaint in which she stated that she was married to Raj Kumar, alias Bobby, of Yamuna Nagar on December 7, 1996.

Her father, Mr Ram Lal, had given enough dowry in accordance with his financial status. But after sometime her husband, her mother-in-law, Janak Dulari, and other relatives started harassing her and demanded Rs 20,000.

Mr Ritu Rani alleged that when her parents could not meet the demand, her husband along with his relatives took her in a jeep to Tohana and after dropping her at the bus stand threatened that they would liquidate her in case she failed to bring a gold ring and Rs 20,000 from her father.

A case under Sections 498-A, 406 and the 506, IPC, has been registered.

10-yr sentence under NDPS Act
From Our Correspondent

FATEHABAD, Jan 17 — The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.M. Jaidi has sentenced a poppy husk trafficker to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and asked him to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

Mukesh, a resident of the local Sunder Nagar, was arrested while he was carrying 20 kg of poppy husk in his scooter which was without a number plate on March 26, 1995. A case had been registered under Section 15 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Morcha rally on January 24
From Our Correspondent

SIRSA, Jan 16 — The Haryana Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha has demanded to set up a rural yuva development board to tackle the unemployment problem in the state. This demand is to be raised at the Jind rally scheduled to be held on January 24.

Mr Dev Kumar Sharma, state President of the morcha, said this here yesterday. He said the number of registered unemployed youth in the state had been increased to eight lakhs.

He said senior BJP leaders, including Mr Pramod Mahajan, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, and Mr Jagat Prakash Nadda, Health Minister, Himachal Pradesh, would address the rally.

Lecturers' demands
From Ajay Malhotra

 BHIWANI, Jan 17 — A deputation of Haryana School Lecturers' Association recently met the Secretary of the Board of School Education, Haryana here and presented him a memorandum of their demands.

Mr Kuldip Phogat state secretary of the association said that association assured the Secretary of the Board of their full cooperating in conduction copying-free examinations.

The association requested Mr M.R. Sharma, Secretary of the Board to reduce the number of examination centres to check copying in the examination.

3 undertrials flee, cops suspended
Tribune News Service

HISAR, Jan 17 — Three undertrials escaped from police custody here yesterday.

Sources said, they were being taken back to Central Jail after being produced in court. They gave the slip to the police on the way to jail.

Three cops, including an ASI, have been suspended in this regard.

The three undertrials have been identified as Prem Singh of Sirsa, Jaiveer and Suresh, both from Hisar. Prem Singh was facing charges of attempt to murder and Jaiveer had been arrested under the NDPS Act. Suresh had been detained on the charge of theft.

Meanwhile, a jeep was snatched by two persons from the auto market here. The police suspects the involvement of the escapees in the incident.

BSP men hold demonstration
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Jan 17 — A large number of Bahujan Samaj Party workers took out a procession at Ganaur, a subdivisional town in the district, yesterday in protest against alleged atrocities on Dalits and inaction of the police in putting a stop to such incidents.

Carrying placards and raising slogans against the police and the Bansi Lal government, they marched through the main bazar and reached the police station where they held a demonstration.

Leaders of the Bahujan Samaj Party narrated the incidents of crimes against Dalit women, atrocities on Dalits and the alleged murder of a Dalit Sarpanch of Garhi Jhinjara village. They urged the state government to take stern action against all the guilty persons. They also threatened to gherao the police station and other offices if no action was taken against the culprits involved in the incidents.